Israel is refusing
to comment officially on the attacks, but spokesman Aaron
Sagui told
Associated Press via email that Israel is protecting
its regional interests.

“What we can say is that Israel
is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or
other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to
terrorists, specially to Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

"For
Israel, it is very important that the front group for Iran,
which is in Lebanon, needs to be stopped," Shaul Mofaz, a
lawmaker in Israel's Knesset, told
Israeli Army Radio .

"I need to say that Hezbollah
is deeply involved up to its neck in what is happening in
Syria. Hezbollah helps the Iranians navigate against the
rebels."

United States President Barack Obama says Israel
has a right to take military action against its
neighbours.

"I'll let the Israeli government confirm or
deny whatever strikes that they've taken," he told
reporters.

"What I have said in the past and I
continue to believe is that the Israelis justifiably have to
guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist
organizations like Hezbollah. We coordinate closely with the
Israelis recognizing they are very close to Syria, they are
very close to Lebanon.”

“We need
to have a game-changing action, and that is no American
boots on the ground, establish a safe zone and to protect it
and to supply weapons to the right people in Syria who are
fighting, obviously, for the things we believe," he
says.

"Every day that goes by, Hezbollah increases their
influence and the radical jihadists flow into Syria and the
situation becomes more and more tenuous.”

The IDF has
deployed two rocket defense batteries near the cities
of Haifa and Safed in northern Israel. The IDF
Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement: "Iron Dome
batteries are deployed from time to time in different
locations across the country according to security
assessments. The system is currently being deployed in the
northern region."

The United Nations Secretary General Ban
Ki-Moon has ”expressed
grave concern” in a statement released follow the
Israeli attack.

“The Secretary-General calls on all
sides to exercise maximum calm and restraint, and to act
with a sense of responsibility to prevent an escalation of
what is already a devastating and highly dangerous
conflict.The Secretary-General urges respect for
national sovereignty and territorial integrity of all
countries in the region, and adherence to all relevant
Security Council resolutions.”

The Arab league has
demanded that the U.N. Security Council "act
immediately to end Israeli attacks on Syria," which it
describes as a "dangerous violation of an Arab state's
sovereignty.”

"All countries have to look
after their own national security, of course, and are able
to take actions to protect their own national security," he
says.

"The longer this goes on, the stronger the case
becomes for lifting the arms embargoes on the National
Coalition, on the Syrian opposition, if we're left with no
other alternative to that.”

Egyptian President Mohamed
Morsi says the attacks are a “true
test” of the world's commitment to international
law.

"We condemn the Israeli aggression on Syria as it
represents a violation of international laws and principles
and only aims at further complicating the situation [in
Syria] as well as threatening the security and stability of
the region," he says in a
statement.

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